American Pot Story "Oaksterdam" premieres in Hollywood.

The film about the cannabis legalisation efforts of Oakland-based cannabis training school Oaksterdam University had its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in January, winning the prestigious Audience Award for Unstoppable Feature.

American Pot Story: Oaksterdam follows the two founders of the institution, Richard Lee and executive chancellor Dale Skye Jones, over a defining decade not only for the "first of its kind" cannabis university but also the legalisation movement in its entirety.

Film directors Katzir and Markus decided to follow Jones and Lee's campaign for Proposition 19. This was the 2010 ballot measure that sought to legalise recreational marijuana in California, capturing nearly 47% of the vote. The result was the film "Legalize It". Still, the proposition's failure at the polls didn't give the movie the optimistic ending the directors wanted.

Refreshing their efforts and hopeful that this was not the end for cannabis reform, the pair decided to set about filming a new film covering "Oaksterdam". For those that do not know, Oaksterdam was America's first cannabis school that transformed the entire downtown of Oakland into the epicentre of significant cannabis resistance.

To increase support for Proposition 19, the campaign centred primarily on how the prohibition of cannabis and the resulting War on Drugs has used up and wasted resources that could have been better spent on other needs, such as public education. 

"the drug war is only one degree of separation from stealing resources from something you care about, including maybe someone you care about."- Founder and executive chancellor of Oaksterdam- executive chancellor Dale Skye Jones.

"Once you start looking at the cost of putting someone in prison versus the cost of putting someone in college or even preschool, it starts to hit home. And I think that's what this movie does."

The film also follows the evolution of Oaksterdam over more than ten years, including a 2012 DEA raid that many blame on the campaign to try and pass Proposition 19. The film also follows the push to draft a new initiative that legalised cannabis in California in 2016.

The directors hope the film will find an audience at more events and film festivals throughout the summer of 2023. They are also in competition to get selected by a streaming platform to allow for a wider audience. You can help by following the film on Instagram and Facebook to support this process.

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